III CIS Games kick off in Azerbaijan

The 3rd CIS Games begin in Azerbaijan on September 26, with the first table tennis matches scheduled in Gabala.

The Games will be held in seven cities of Azerbaijan – Ganja, Gabala, Yevlakh, Mingachevir, Sheki, Goygol, and Khankendi – across 12 sports venues. The official opening and closing ceremonies will be held in Ganja on September 28 and October 8.

Athletes will compete in 23 sports: table tennis, archery, badminton, 3x3 basketball, boxing, canoeing, chovgan, fencing, U-16 football, rhythmic gymnastics, rowing, sambo, shooting, clay pigeon shooting, swimming, taekwondo, trampoline, volleyball, Greco-Roman wrestling, judo, karate, women's wrestling, and freestyle wrestling.

A total of 1,624 athletes will take part in the international competitions: 340 from Azerbaijan, 262 from Russia, 254 from Uzbekistan, 240 from Belarus, 147 from Kazakhstan, 144 from Tajikistan, 126 from Kyrgyzstan, 48 from Turkmenistan, 38 from Türkiye, 11 from Cuba, 6 from Kuwait, and 4 each from Pakistan and Oman.

This is the first time Azerbaijan has hosted a sporting event of such scale outside the capital, Baku.